Son of a Death Eater
by phoenixfire1995
Summary: American wizard, Benjamin Macnair moves to a London suburb with his Godfather and begins his time in school at Hogwarts, befriending fellow students, Harry, Ron, and Hermione, and discovers dark secrets about his true family while attending school.
1. The Move to London

**The Move to London**

I was always a troublemaker in school. I was always getting into some kind of trouble whenever I was there. Usually it was just mischief, but I also had a temper on me that caused me to get into numerous fights. By the time I turned ten, I was expelled from my uptight, snob-filled academy in Western Pennsylvania.

I had received the news from Mr. Warburton, the headmaster, and sat in one of the chairs in his office.

"It saddens me to have to do this to me, Ben, but you have caused too many problems at this academy," he said to me.

Lying bastard. He wasn't saddened for expelling me, he wanted me out from the first day I walked into this crappy school and called him a pathetic warthog with a crooked nose. The only reason I called him that was that he looked like a pathetic warthog with a crooked nose.

He was short and pudgy and his face was covered in zits. His nose was crooked due to walking into a light pole. He lied to all his peers and the students by saying he had gotten into a fistfight. I knew this was bull because I saw him hit the damn light pole.

I ignored his pathetic attempts at pity and sat back in the chair.

"Mr. Macnair, do you even care that you were expelled?" Mr. Warburton asked me.

"He threw the first punch. What was I supposed to do, let him punch me?" I asked him.

"That's not what I heard from Erik," Mr. Warburton said.

"Well he's a lying little prick!" I exclaimed.

"Such language is not permitted here, Mr. Macnair," Warburton warned me.

"Well, I'm telling the truth," I said.

"I find that hard to believe, Ben, everyone who saw the fight insists that you started the whole thing," Warburton said.

"They're all lying little…!" I protested, stopping to avoid cussing again.

"Who am I supposed to believe, ten children from honest families, or some little orphan?" Warburton asked me.

"Son of a bitch!" I shouted, grabbing a pair of scissors from his pencil holder.

He crossed the line right there, and I was going to drive the damn scissors into his damn neck. One of his secretaries, who happened to be walking by when I lunged, wrapped her arms around my waist and pulled me away.

"THAT IS ENOUGH, MR. MACNAIR; YOU ARE BANNED FROM THIS ACADEMY!" Warburton bellowed at me.

I was still steaming from his words. All I wanted to do was bash his pimple-covered head into his damned desk. Suddenly Warburton's head slammed forward, hitting against his desk. There was some blood from a wound and popped pimples. He looked around in surprise and used some tissue to dab the blood off his forehead.

"Gladys, get him out of here," Warburton said.

Gladys led me out of the building and pitched me outside in the damn snow. She locked the door and walked away. Luckily, my Godfather was waiting outside for me by his El Camino that he has been fixing up since the 80s.

My Godfather, or Emmitt Macnair, was a strong man in his early-forties. He had jet-black hair that was gelled back and streaked with grey. His squinted, blue eyes looked at me with concern, especially when he saw the dried blood on my white t-shirt.

"Don't worry, it's the other kid's blood," I said.

"Who threw the first punch?" Emmitt asked me.

"He did," I said.

"And it's his blood on your shirt?" my Godfather asked despite me already clarifying that it was.

I nodded.

"Damn, if I was the headmaster of this shithole school, I'd suspend that kid for being a little pussy that can't fight for shit," Emmitt said.

I had to laugh. I walked to the passenger side door of the El Camino and sat inside the muscle car. Emmitt got in the driver seat and drove off from the academy, with his middle finger out the window for old Warthog to see.

Emmitt was my father's younger brother. My father got up and left as soon as I was born, leaving my mother and me alone. Emmitt took us in and my mother became sick. She named Emmitt to be my Godfather on her deathbed. I was in the room and watched her die. I was only eight.

Since then, I've been through five different schools due to my anger problems.

"Hey, Emmitt, when I was in Warburton's office, something weird happened," I said.

Emmitt looked at me.

"Did he touch you?" he asked me in a serious tone.

"God, no! No, it was just I wanted to bash his face into his desk so badly and then he head-butted his own desk like an invisible hand made him do it," I said.

"Has this ever happened before?" Emmitt asked me.

"No," I responded.

Suddenly the car dropped and an awful crunching noise came from underneath us.

"What the hell!?" Emmitt shouted.

The car stopped on the road and we seemed to be lower than usual.

A passerby got out of his car and ran over.

"What happened?" Emmitt asked him.

"Um… your tires… they… they just disappeared," he said, looking shocked.

Emmitt looked at him incredulously, but then looked out his window as I looked out of mine. His El Camino was lying on its belly and the tires and rims were gone. They just disappeared.

Suddenly the rims and tires popped back into existence from nothingness.

"Ben, let's go straight home," Emmitt said.

He sped off instantly and we got home. I walked into the house and suddenly everything on the kitchen table lifted off the ground.

"My God," Emmitt said, looking at the event.

"What's going on?" I asked him.

Suddenly the coffee mug, bills, plate, turkey sandwich, and bottle of pain pills dropped to the table. The papers scattered and the coffee mug and plate shattered.

Then the plate and mug pieces moved toward each other and fixed themselves. The coffee flew through the air and went back into the mug. The papers reorganized themselves and stacked themselves on the table. The pain pills sat back up on the table and the turkey sandwich went back onto the plate as if nothing had ever happened.

"Did I… did I do that?" I asked Emmitt.

"Well, I didn't do it," he said.

"How is that even possible?" I asked him.

"Really simple, you're a wizard," Emmitt said.

"I'm a… I'm a _what_?" I asked him.

Suddenly a letter came flying in through the open door and landed in my hands. A Great-horned owl flew in and perched itself on the table.

"There's an owl on the table," I pointed out.

"A messenger owl, read the envelope," Emmitt said to me, sitting down at the table.

He pulled out five, bronze-colored coins from his pocket and handed it to the owl. The owl nodded at Emmitt and flew off. I opened the envelope. It was a two-page letter.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL _of_ WITCHCRAFT _and_ WIZARDRY

Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE

_(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,_

Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizar_ds)_

Dear Benjamin Scott Macnair,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

I turned the letter over to the second page.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL _of _WITCHCRAFT _and_ WIZARDRY

UNIFORM

First-year students will require:

1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)

2. One plain pointed hat (black) for daywear

3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)

4. One winter cloak (black, with silver fastenings)

Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry nametags.

COURSE BOOKS

All students should have a copy of each of the following:

_The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)_

by Miranda Goshawk

_A History of Magic_

_by Bathilda Bagshot_

_Magical Theory _

_by Adalbert Waffling_

_A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration_

_by Emeric Switch_

_One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi_

_by Phyllida Spore_

_Magical Drafts and Potions_

_by Arsenius Jigger_

_Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_

_by Newt Scamander_

_The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection_

_by Quentin Trimble_

OTHER EQUIPMENT

1 wand

1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)

1 set glass or crystal phials

1 telescope

1 set brass scales

Students may also bring, if they desire, an owl OR a cat OR a toad.

PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS

ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICK

Yours sincerely,

Lucinda Thomsonicle-Pocus

Chief Attendant of Witchcraft Provisions

I read the letter a couple times.

"I'm going to wizard school?" I asked Emmitt.

"The finest wizard school in the world," Emmitt said.

"What's gonna keep me from being expelled from here?" I asked him.

"You. You need to control your anger, Ben," Emmitt said, standing to his feet.

"I know, I've been trying," I said.

"Well try harder, because this is your last chance," Emmitt said.

I nodded.

"Now, go get your things packed away, we're moving to London," Emmitt said.

"I never unpacked my things," I said, walking into my room.


	2. Diagon Alley

**Diagon Alley **

Emmitt and I packed all of our things and got the next flight to London, England. We found a small flat to live in just outside of London. It took us a few days to finally get settled and unpacked.

"Alright, we need to get your school supplies," Emmitt said.

"And where do we get _wizard supplies_?" I asked him sarcastically.

Emmitt smiled.

We were walking through London and got to this pub called the Leaky Cauldron. I saw a man in there that stood at least ten feet tall and had long, shaggy hair and a long, shaggy beard. The patrons of the pub surrounded the giant. I couldn't blame them. This man's head was touching the ceiling of the pub.

"It's Harry Potter!" one of the patrons announced.

"Harry Potter…," Emmitt muttered before pushing his way through the crowd with me in tow.

Standing next to the giant was a boy my age. He was shorter than I and had brown hair in a bowl-shaped hairdo that covered his ears. He had circular glasses that looked like they had been broken a few times. He was incredibly thin, as if his parents had been starving him. He also had this strange, lightning bolt-shaped scar on his forehead.

"Mr. Harry Potter, my name is Emmitt Macnair, and this is my Godson Ben. It is a pleasure to meet you," Emmitt said, shaking the kid's hand.

"Pleasure to meet you too, sir," Harry responded.

I shook his hand as well.

"So, you're a wizard too?" I asked Harry.

"Yeah, I just found out the other day," Harry said.

"Same here. I slammed my headmaster's head into his desk, made the tires on my Godfather's car disappear, and levitated some things, broke them, and put them back together," I said.

"Cool, I made the glass disappear on a snake's tank at the zoo and caused my dreadful cousin to fall in," Harry said.

"Did he deserve it?" I asked him.

"Yeah," Harry said, nodding.

I liked this Potter kid. He seemed to be a cool person.

"Alright, Ben, it's time to by your wand," Emmitt said.

"Okay, hey Harry, see you at school," I said to him.

"See you later," Harry responded as he went back to shaking people's hands.

"Emmitt, what is so special about that kid?" I asked him, slightly confused by all the attention he was getting.

"Ben, he is a special, _special _boy. About a decade ago, there was this evil wizard named… He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. He'd murder wizards for the fun of it, and he killed Potters parents. He was about to kill Potter as well, but he couldn't and was destroyed," Emmitt said.

"How was he destroyed?" I asked him.

"No one knows," Emmitt said.

He then led me out of the pub and into a back alley. There was a brick wall and Emmitt began moving the bricks around. Suddenly the wall opened up and revealed a massive area full of shops.

"Welcome to Diagon Alley!" Emmitt exclaimed.

He then took me to a place called Ollivander's Wand Shop in the Southern part of Diagon Alley.

"What am I going to pick out a magic wand here?" I asked him very sarcastically.

"Yeah," Emmitt said, nodding at me.

"Hello," a light-skinned man with long, messy white hair and silver eyes greeted us.

He walked over with aged legs and looked at me.

"Are we here for our first wand?" Ollivander asked me.

"I guess," I said.

"Hand me your wand-arm, son," Ollivander said to me.

"My wand-arm?" I questioned him.

"The one you write with," Ollivander explained with great patience.

I stretched out my left arm and Ollivander measured my arm from the elbow out.

"Hmm… interesting, this is going to be an interesting wand," Ollivander said, walking into the back of his store.

He came back with a wand in his hand.

"This is a nine-inch, willow wand with a phoenix feather core. She is a very temperamental wand just like her holder," Ollivander said, handing the wand to me.

I felt a sudden warmth go up my arm.

"Her?" I questioned the man.

"Yes, this wand is a female, treat her well," Ollivander said to me.

I nodded, not knowing what to say. Emmitt led me throughout all of Diagon Alley to pick up the rest of my school supplies. Finally, I had to pick whether I wanted a cat, a toad, or an owl. I hate cats and toads are useless so I chose to pick an owl.

The owl I chose from Eeylops Owl Emporium was a grey morph Eastern Screech Owl that I named Banshee. I carried him around in his cage and bumped into none other than Harry Potter, who also just had received an owl. His was a snowy owl that was currently asleep in her cage.

"Hey, Harry," I said to him.

"Hey, Ben," he responded.

We just said hello and walked the opposite way from each other. I finally noticed a pale girl sitting on a bench outside of Ollivander's.

She had long, dirty blonde hair and grey eyes that peered over the newspaper she was reading. The strange thing about this girl was that she was reading this newspaper upside down. She looked up from her newspaper and watched me watch her as I walked by.

I wasn't paying attention where I was going and ran right into another kid, knocking his books onto the ground.

"Sorry," I apologized, helping him get his books.

He was tall, but still shorter than I was, and had short blonde hair.

"Watch where you're going!?" the kid barked at me, pushing past me.

I was about to knock that little prick on his ass, but Emmitt stopped me.

"I said no fighting," he said, glaring down at me.

I didn't respond, but looked back over where that blonde girl was sitting. She had lowered her newspaper and she had a slight smile on her face.

"Come on, Ben, we're done here," Emmitt said to me, dragging me away.

The girl and I had our eyes locked and we stared each other down until I lost her from my sight. I needed to know who this girl was. For some reason, she intrigued the hell out of me.


	3. Platform 9 and 3 Quarters

**Platform 9¾**

The day was August 31st, and I was packing my trunk with everything that I will need for Hogwarts. Emmitt was making sure I didn't forget a single thing.

"Emmitt, was my mother a witch?" I asked him.

"No, your mother was a Muggle… err… a non-magical woman," Emmitt said.

"What about… what about my father?" I asked him.

I never asked about my father. He left my mother and me on our own the day I was born. I didn't give a damn about him.

Emmitt paused slightly and sighed.

"He was a wizard, yes," Emmitt said.

"Are you a wizard?" I asked him.

"Nope, I'm a Squib," Emmitt said.

"A what?" I questioned him.

"A Muggle born into a full-Magic family. Hell, my mother hated me for it," Emmitt said.

"Why?" I asked him.

"Uh… some wizards and witches do not like Muggles," Emmitt said.

"Why?" I asked him.

"No more questions, we need to get you going!" Emmitt exclaimed excitedly, pushing me out the door and pulling my trunk behind him.

I carried Banshee in his cage and placed them in the bed of Emmitt's El Camino.

"Hold on," I said to the owl, gently scratching the side of his face.

Emmitt drove me to the train station in London and helped me get my things on a trolley.

"Alright, we need to get you to Platform 9¾," Emmitt said to me.

"Nine and three…?" I questioned him.

He just smiled and walked to the wall separating Platform 9 and Platform 10. He ran straight at it and phased straight through it as if it wasn't there. I stared at the wall in disbelief and allowed two ginger twins to run in front of me.

"Excuse me," a familiar voice said.

I turned around and saw Harry Potter talking to plump ginger woman. There were two more ginger kids standing with her. One was a boy that was slightly taller than Harry was, but shorter than I was. Everyone was shorter than I was. The other was a young girl with short, red hair.

"Hello dear. First time at Hogwarts? Ron's new too," the mother said, pointing at the boy.

"Yes. The thing is… the thing is, I don't know how to…," Harry tried saying.

"How to get onto the platform?" she said kindly, and Harry nodded.

"Not to worry. All you have to do is walk straight at the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Don't stop and don't be scared you'll crash into it, that's very important. Best do it at a bit of a run if you're nervous. Go on, go now before Ron," she said to Harry.

"Err… okay," Harry responded before running full on at the wall.

He phased straight through it. Ron and his family followed next and then I took a crack at it.

I opened my eyes and saw a scarlet steam engine waiting next to a platform and a whole bunch of kids running around.

"About damn time, Ben," Emmitt said, smiling at me.

"Shut up," I responded.

He loaded my things in a compartment and I stood on the train.

"Remember, no fighting," he said, pointing at me.

"I'll try," I said.

"I swear… to God… if you get into a fight, I will murder you," Emmitt said.

"Yeah, yeah, I understand," I said.

Emmitt looked at me.

"Bye… son," he said, hugging me.

"Bye, Emmitt," I said, ending the hug.

I turned away from him and walked into the train. I had several Galleons, a few Sickles, and a Knut in my pocket and my wand was in my cloak. I walked around the train and found an empty compartment.

Soon Harry joined me.

"What's up?" I greeted him.

"This is just so…," he said.

"Overwhelming," I guessed his next word.

"Yeah," he said, nodding.

He looked out the window at the ginger mother and her daughter.

"She was really helpful," I said.

"Yeah," Harry agreed.

The train then started going and we left the station. Houses past by in a flash.

Soon the compartment door slid open and the youngest ginger boy stood there.

"Anyone sitting there? Everywhere else is full," Ron asked, pointing at the seat next to me.

"No, it's fine," I said.

Ron sat down next to me and the twin brothers came in.

"Hey, Ron," one twin said.

"Listen, we're going down to the middle of the train… Lee Jordan's got a giant tarantula down there," the other said.

"Right," Ron mumbled.

"Harry, did we introduce ourselves? Fred and George Weasley. And this is Ron, our brother. See you later, then," the first twin said.

"Bye," both Harry and Ron said as I remained quiet.

The twins left.

"Are you really Harry Potter?" Ron blurted out.

Harry nodded. They continued their conversation as I sat there, ignoring most of it.

"So, who are you?" Ron asked me.

"Ben Macnair," I said.

"Nice to meet you," he said.

"You two," I responded.

He seemed like an okay kid. And I felt like being somewhat friendly.

Suddenly the compartment door opened and an older woman pushing a trolley full of treats popped in.

"Anything off the trolley, dear?" she asked us.

Harry hopped off his seat and ran over like a bat outta hell. Damn, he must be starving. I noticed a fat grey rat lying on Ron's lap.

He bought some of everything off the trolley and shared with both Ron and me. I took something called a pumpkin pasty and took a bite. It was pretty good for British food, but I was severely missing a hamburger.

Ron then started a conversation with Harry about some beans that had some strange flavors. I took one and ate it. I nearly barfed because the damn thing tasted like barf.

"That's just… disgusting," I said, eating another pasty to get rid of the taste.

Suddenly the compartment door opened yet again and a boy looked in.

"Sorry, but have you seen a toad at all? I've lost him! He keeps getting away from me!" the boy said.

"He'll turn up," Harry said.

"Yes. Well if you see him…," the boy said, disappearing.

"And that's why I got an owl," I said, sitting back.

"Same here," Ron agreed.

"Yep," Harry responded.

"And what's wrong with cats?" a young girl with bushy brown hair and buck teeth asked us.

"I hate them," I said.

As if on cue, an orange Persian cat trotted in like it owned the damn place. I looked at the cat and then at Ron's rat.

"This is not going to be good," I said.

The cat suddenly lunged and Ron's rat ran for its life.

"Scabbers!" Ron cried out.

"Crookshanks, don't eat that!" the girl screamed, grabbing her cat before any damage could be done.

"Sorry," the girl apologized.

"Get that beast out of here!" Ron shouted at the girl.

"Calm down, dude," I said, looking at him.

"Yeah, it's not like she sent her cat out on your rat," Harry added.

Ron looked defeated and sat back down as the girl disappeared.

"Why do you have to be such a jerk?" I asked Ron.

"Shut up," he muttered.

Normally I would've punched him in the mouth for telling me to shut up, but I was having a little too much fun with this whole thing to do that.


	4. Welcome to Hogwarts

**Welcome to Hogwarts**

We continued our train ride through the British countryside and Ron then decided to pull his wand out. It looked like it had gone through a wood chipper. There were chunks taken out of it and some silvery substance hanging out the end.

"Unicorn hair is nearly poking out. Anyway…," Ron said, preparing to do some spell for the heck of it.

Suddenly our compartment door opened for the millionth time and the girl with the cat and the toadless boy were back.

"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one," she asked us in a semi-bossy tone.

She stood there with the boy and looked at us.

"We already told him we haven't seen it," Ron said, but the girl wasn't listening.

"Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it then," she said, sitting down next to Harry.

Ron looked taken back by her. The boy stood just inside our compartment, his eyes moving around for his toad.

"Err… all right," he said, clearing his throat.

"_Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow. Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow_," he said.

Scabbers just stayed the usual grey and slept. She went on and on about how much she's read about spells. She was such a snob when it came to her intelligence and it annoyed the hell out of me. I was about to tell her off when she got up and left to help Neville find her toad.

"By the way, my name is Hermione Granger," she introduced herself.

"Ron Weasley," Ron said.

"Harry Potter," Harry said.

"Ben…," I tried introducing myself, but Hermione interrupted me.

"Are you really Harry Potter?" she asked Harry.

He nodded. I really don't like her. I just ignored her until she left and kept ignoring both Harry and Ron until our compartment door opened again. The blonde kid I had ran into at Diagon Alley stood there with two larger boys flanking him like bodyguards.

"Is it true? They're saying all down the train that Harry Potter is in this compartment. So it's you, is it?" the boy asked.

"Yes," Harry said as his eyes watched the two other boys carefully.

"Oh this is Crabbe, and this is Goyle. And my name is Malfoy, Draco Malfoy," the boy did the introductions.

Ron snickered.

"Think my name is funny? Well, there's no doubt what family you come from. My dad told me that all Weasley's have red hair, freckles, and more kids they could afford," Malfoy said.

I really had the urge to fight. I used most of my self-control not to.

"And you're the boy that doesn't look where he is going. Potter, why do you associate yourself with such pathetic-excuses for wizards?" Malfoy went on.

I stood up and Crabbe and Goyle stepped forward. Harry stood up and stared down Malfoy.

"You really should be careful what families you associate yourself with, Potter, come with me and I'll show you which ones you should," Malfoy said, holding his hand out.

Harry didn't take it.

"I think I know who not to associate myself with," Harry responded coolly.

Malfoy looked pissed.

"Alright then. I was just trying to help you avoid the riffraff of the Weasley's and that Hagrid," Malfoy said.

Ron finally stood up as well.

"Say that again," Ron growled.

"Oh, you want to fight us?" Malfoy asked us.

"Sure," I said.

"If you don't get out," Harry said.

"Can I knock pretty-boy on his ass?" I asked Ron or Harry, glaring at Malfoy.

"But we don't want to go, do we boys? We've eaten all our food, and you still have some," Malfoy said, downright ignoring me.

Only I'm allowed to ignore people. Goyle suddenly reached for some chocolate in front of Ron, who leapt at him, but before he could touch Goyle, he screamed.

I noticed that Scabbers was hanging off Goyle's knuckle. Goyle swung his hand around and Scabbers lost his grip. He flew across the compartment and hit the window. Ron scooped him up and the three bullies ran off.

"Is he okay?" I asked Ron.

"He's either knocked out or asleep… probably asleep," he said.

"What _has_ been going on?" Hermione asked us, running into the compartment.

"Nothing," I lied, but the fallen treats and unconscious rat told a story.

"Just some bullies," Harry said.

"You weren't fighting were you? Are you seriously thinking of getting into trouble before we even get to school?" Hermione asked us.

"Hey, we didn't start it," I protested.

"Just… be sure to get your robes on. I spoke to the conductor and we're almost to the school," Hermione said, sitting down next to Harry.

She looked over at him and noticed his broken glasses barely hanging onto his face.

"Umm… do you want me to fix your glasses?" she asked, pulling out her wand.

"Sure," Harry said nervously.

"_Oculus Repairo_," Hermione said, waving her wand.

The glasses suddenly fixed themselves.

"Wow, thanks," Harry said.

Hermione just smiled haughtily and put her wand away.

"What was your name?" she asked me.

"Ben Macnair," I said.

"Nice to meet you," Hermione said.

I just nodded and waited for us to get to school. Hermione left momentarily so we could change into our robes. It was starting to get dark. Finally, the train stopped and we all piled off the train.

"We have now reached Hogwarts, do not worry about your luggage, it will be transported to the school separately," a voice boomed throughout the train.

We were in a dark forest in the middle of nowhere. Suddenly I saw a lantern being carried by a very tall man. It was Hagrid, the giant that was with Harry in Diagon Alley.

"Firs' years! Firs' years over here! All right there, Harry," he bellowed.

"C'mon, follow me… any more firs' years? Mind yer step now! Firs' years follow me!" Hagrid bellowed as he led the four of us through the sea of kids.

Hagrid led all of us first years down a dark path.

"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec jus' round this bend here," Hagrid said to all of us.

There was a loud "Oooooh!"

The path suddenly opened up and revealed a great, black lake. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers.

"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid bellowed.

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and I got into one boat.

"Everyone in? Right then… FORWARD!" he shouted and the boats propelled themselves forward across the lake.

We got to the other side and climbed out of our boats.

"Oy, you there! Is this your toad?" Hagrid bellowed at Neville.

"Trevor!" Neville called out, running over to reunite with his lost pet.

I was busy admiring the massive castle. Hagrid stepped past me and looked at the door. He then knocked on the massive door and knocked three times.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," he said as the door opened.


	5. The Sorting Hat

**The Sorting Hat**

A tall, black-haired witch in emerald-green robes stood on the other side of the door. She had a very stern face and I knew that we were not going to get along.

"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," Hagrid said.

"Thank you, Hagrid, I will take them from here," McGonagall said.

The witch led us into the Main Hall and I was amazed how huge it was. I did a full three-hundred-and-sixty-degree turn and saw four massive hourglasses on the same wall as the door, two on each side of the door.

"There are four houses that each and every one of you will be sorted into. The houses are Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff. You will be awarded house points for good behavior and you will lose house points for unacceptable behavior. At the end of the second term, the house points will be added up and the house with the most points will be awarded the House Cup. This is a tremendous honor and each student from the winning house will be responsible for the victory," McGonagall said.

"How will we be sorted into the houses?" I asked the witch.

"With the Sorting Hat, of course," McGonagall said.

She led us down a corridor and to another hall. This one had five tables, four of which were lined up in a row. The fifth stood perpendicular to the four and there were teachers sitting there. The four others sat hundreds of students.

"First years, wait here," Professor McGonagall said as she walked down the aisle between the second and third table.

She placed an old and worn hat on a pedestal and sat down at the teacher's table.

"What are we supposed to pull a rabbit out of that old piece of…?" I was about to say, but the hat opened up by the brim and interrupted me with a song.

"_Oh you may not think I'm pretty,  
But don't judge on what you see,  
I'll eat myself if you can find  
A smarter hat than me._

You can keep your bowlers black,  
Your top hats sleek and tall,  
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat  
And I can cap them all.

There's nothing hidden in your head  
The Sorting Hat can't see,  
So try me on and I will tell you  
Where you ought to be.

You might belong in Gryffindor,  
Where dwell the brave at heart,  
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry  
Set Gryffindor's apart;

You might belong in Hufflepuff,  
Where they are just and loyal,  
Those patient Hufflepuff's are true  
And unafraid of toil;

Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,  
if you've a ready mind,  
Where those of wit and learning,  
Will always find their kind;

Or perhaps in Slytherin  
You'll make your real friends,  
Those cunning folks use any means  
To achieve their ends.

So put me on! Don't be afraid!  
And don't get in a flap!  
You're in safe hands (though I have none)  
For I'm a Thinking Cap!"

The whole hall erupted in applause after the Sorting Hat finished its song. It bowed to all of the tables and went still. Professor McGonagall stepped forward with a long piece of parchment.

"I will read off your names and you will step forward to be sorted. Abbot, Hannah!" she called out.

A pink-faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of the group and walked forward. She sat down on the seat and the Sorting Hat was placed on her head.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" the hat shouted.

There was a cheer from one of the tables as the young girl clambered over to take her seat.

"Bones, Susan!" McGonagall called out.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" the hat shouted again.

"Boot, Terry!" McGonagall called out.

"RAVENCLAW!" the hat called out.

The sorting then kept going. Hermione became a Gryffindor along with Neville. Soon enough it was my turn. I walked forward and sat down. McGonagall placed the hat on my head and I waited.

"Hmm… you are an interesting boy. Your bloodlines scream Slytherin, but your heart beats for Gryffindor. Hmm… I think I made my decision… GRYFFINDOR!" the hat shouted.

The Gryffindor's applauded and I stepped up from the seat, thinking about how the hat said my family was placed in Slytherin.

"Malfoy, Draco!" McGonagall called out.

The blonde kid stepped forward and pushed past me. I was about to turn and respond to that, but Fred and George Weasley pulled me down to a seat between them.

"Don't worry about it, mate," Fred said.

"Yeah, that arse will get it another day," George added.

That made me smile. Malfoy was placed in Slytherin. The sorting kept going and soon enough, Harry went up to the hat.

Everyone was whispering whether or not it was _the _Harry Potter.

"Hmmm. Difficult. Very Difficult. Plenty of courage, I see. Not a bad mind either. There's talent, oh my goodness, yes… and a nice thirst to prove yourself, now that's interesting… So where shall I put you?" the hat went on.

I saw Harry tense up.

"Not Slytherin, eh? Are you sure? You could be great, you know, it's all there in your head, and Slytherin will help you on the way to greatness, no doubt about that… no? Well, if you're sure… better be GRYFFINDOR!" the hat shouted and all the Gryffindor's went into applause.

Harry let out a sigh of relief and walked over to the table, sitting next to Hermione and across from me.

"We got Potter! We got Potter!" the Weasley twins chanted from either side of me.

The sorting went on and Ron soon walked up. The hat barely touched him and it screamed Gryffindor. He ran over to join his family.

"Well done, Ron," an older ginger, who I found out later, was Percy Weasley, congratulated his younger brother.

Ron nodded and collapsed in the chair next to Harry. The sorting hat then sorted the last student into Slytherin and Professor McGonagall rolled up the parchment and took the hat away.

I was starting to get hungry. Then an older man with long, white hair and a long, white beard stood up. He beamed at us and opened his arms wide.

"Welcome! Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet. I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!" he shouted.

"Thank you!" he ended before sitting down.

Soon enough the empty plates in front of us suddenly became filled with food. Delicious-looking food. Some food I have eaten in America. My stomach growled.

Everyone kept talking about his or her family but I was too busy eating.

Suddenly I saw Harry flinch and grab his forehead.

"You alright?" I asked with a mouth full of food, accidently spraying some.

Hermione looked like she was going to have a heart attack at that display, but I didn't care.

"Yeah, just a bit of a headache," Harry responded.

He was staring at one of the teachers at the table that was talking to another teacher with a ridiculous turban on his head. He had greasy black hair, black eyes, and a hooked nose. He looked like a really cruel man.

"Who is that teacher, the one talking to Professor Quirrell?" Harry asked Percy.

Percy looked at the black-haired man.

"That's Professor Snape. He teaches Potions, but he's been after Quirrell's job for years," Percy said.

"What does Quirrell teach?" I asked Percy.

"Defense Against the Dark Arts. Snape knows a lot about the Dark Arts," Percy said.

Soon enough after dessert was gone, the white-haired man I had learned was the Headmaster of the school, Professor Albus Dumbledore, stood up and had us sing this ridiculous school song. Everyone sang in his or her own tune and we first-years just listened.


	6. Potions

**Potions**

Percy led us away from the Great Hall and toward a massive multi-level staircase. Suddenly the stairs began moving. I watched in awe as the stairs moved around magically. The walls were lined with pictures that moved as if they were alive. I was sure that they were all alive.

"As Dumbledore has said, the third floor right side is off-limits to all students, as well as the forests that surround the castle," Percy said, looking directly at his younger twin brothers.

"What?" they both asked him in unison.

We moved on. We walked up seven flights of stairs and reached a portrait of a very large woman with brown hair and a pink, silk dress.

"Password?" she asked us.

"Caput Draconis," Percy said.

The portrait suddenly swung open like a door and revealed a hole in the wall.

"Ben, could you help me lift some of our smaller friends into the hole?" Percy asked of me.

I was used to being asked this due to height. I was really tall for my age. I nodded and stood on the opposite side of the hole from Percy as some students got into the hole themselves, but some of the shorter, clumsier students, like Neville Longbottom, had to be helped. Finally I climbed into the hole and Percy followed me.

The Gryffindor Common Room was a large den-like room with several chairs and had twin staircases that led to the dormitories.

"Guys stay away from the girl's dorm and girls stay away from the guy's dorm," Percy said.

"Aww," I complained to be funny.

That earned some laughs from Fred and George, but many glares from every girl in Gryffindor. I was an expert at making enemies.

"Alright, let's get you all to bed, classes start tomorrow morning," Percy said, trying to avoid me being jumped by the female Gryffindors.

We all walked up our stairs and chose our rooms. I bunked in the same room as Harry, Ron, Neville, and another kid named Seamus Finnigan.

I was tired, so I went to sleep immediately.

The next morning, I woke up and dressed into my school uniforms. I already knew my schedule and what days I had to go to my classes. Today was Monday, so I first had to go to Potions and then I had to go to Defense Against the Dark Arts.

First, I headed to breakfast while Ron and Harry snored away. I wasn't going to miss food to wake those two up.

I made my way to the Great Hall and sat down next to Hermione.

"Good morning," I greeted, grabbing a piece of toast.

"Morning," she said with a slight smile.

I noticed that she had a huge stack of books right next to her plate of eggs.

"Got enough books?" I asked her.

"No, I can only carry so many," she said.

I chuckled at her response and soon enough Ron and Harry joined us.

"Thanks for waking us up," Ron commented at me with a glare.

"Hey, you snooze, you lose," I said with a smile as I piled my plate full of food.

Ron sat down next to Hermione and Harry sat down on the other side. Ron reached over to a bowl of oatmeal and accidentally knocked down Hermione's stack of books, causing him to spill oatmeal on his robes.

"Do you have to have your bloody books at the table?" Ron asked Hermione angrily.

"Well, I have a lot to learn," Hermione responded as she and I picked her books up.

"Brainiac," Ron muttered.

"Ron, just stop talking," I said, glaring at the redhead.

"Well, it's true!" he exclaimed, earning some attention from other students.

I stood up and got in his face. Everyone was waiting for the fight.

"Stop talking," I said dangerously.

"What is going on here?" Percy asked us, getting in the middle.

"Nothing, Perc," Ron said.

"Ron, go clean your robes. Seriously, can't you eat without making a mess?" Percy drilled into his younger brother.

Ron stood and walked off to change. Percy soon left and I sat down next to Hermione.

"Thank you," she whispered to me.

Soon enough several owls came flying into the Great Hall to deliver messages. Harry's Snowy Owl, Hedwig, dropped off a message and Banshee flew in with a message from Emmitt. I took the envelope and opened it.

"Dear Ben, How are things going at Hogwarts, I hope you are doing well, and not getting into fights. Love, Emmitt," it said.

I quickly pulled out a quill and replied.

"I'm doing good, making some friends, and I haven't punched anybody yet, so that's good," I replied.

After breakfast, we all went to our first class, Potions. It was in the Dungeons of Hogwarts and was a really creepy and dark place. Professor Snape walked in and looked us over. He then began roll call. He paused when he reached Harry's name.

"Ah, yes. Harry Potter. Our new… _celebrity_," he said coldly.

Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle snickered at this. He continued roll call and looked at us all. His eyes were black, cold, and reminded me of a dark tunnel.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making. As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly-simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses… I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death… if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach," Snape said.

Silence followed his speech.

"Potter! What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" Snape asked Harry suddenly.

Harry looked dumbfounded. Hermione rose her hand.

"I don't know, sir," Harry murmured.

Snape sneered at him.

"Tut, tut… fame clearly isn't everything," Snape said.

He ignored Hermione's hand.

"Let's try again. Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?" Snape asked.

Hermione stretched her hand higher in the air.

"I don't know, sir," Harry said.

Malfoy and his two cronies laughed at Harry's expense. I really didn't like what Snape was doing.

"Thought you wouldn't open a book before coming, eh, Potter?" Snape asked him.

He still ignored Hermione.

"What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?" Snape asked.

"I don't know. I think Hermione does, though, why don't you try her?" Harry responded quietly.

Students laughed. I was beginning to boil and was about to call Snape out as he explained the uses for each of those objects. Finally, I lost it as he finished and took a point from Gryffindor.

"Why do you have to be a complete douchebag?" I asked him aloud.

Everyone froze and looked at me in surprise, including Snape. He looked ready to kill me.

"A week's detention Mr. Macnair, and five points taken from Gryffindor," Snape growled.

"Is that supposed to be a punishment?" I asked him.

"Make it two weeks and ten points taken, _and _wait outside until the end of class," Snape growled.

"Bye," I said.

"Fifteen points!" Snape called after me.

I earned some really dirty looks from every Gryffindor, save for Harry. I shrugged my shoulders, walked out of the classroom, and sat out in the cold dungeon.


	7. Flying High

**Flying High**

I waited out in the dungeon for the Potions class to end. I watched several angry Gryffindors and sneering Slytherins walk out. Soon Harry and Ron walked out.

"Good luck," Harry said.

"Thanks, you don't think he'll turn me into a toad?" I asked them.

"No, according to Fred and George, Professor McGonagall usually does that," Ron said.

That didn't make me feel any better.

"Well, I hope you're happy, because of you, we're down fifteen points," Hermione laid into me like a ton of bricks.

"Leave him alone, he was defending Harry!" Ron barked.

"Don't you three have to get to your next class?" Snape questioned the three.

"Yes sir," Hermione said, walking to her next class.

Harry and Ron looked at me and left as well. I looked at Snape as he glared down at me.

"Meet me down here after class for the next two weeks and you will serve your detention," Snape said to me.

"Yes sir, and if it means anything, I apologize for being disrespectful towards you," I apologized.

"Hmm…, go to your next class," Snape said.

I nodded and took off to my next class. I sat down next to Hermione and turned to Harry and Ron.

"You're alive?" Ron asked me.

"I don't know, let's see," I said, flicking his forehead.

"Ow! What was that for!?" he questioned me.

"I still had to get you for being rude to Hermione," I said.

Hermione looked at me with wide eyes. I looked at her and had a slight smile.

"I really hate bullies," I said.

Hermione smiled at me and Ron just looked pissed.

After class, I made my way back down into the Dungeon and stood outside Snape's classroom. I knocked on the door.

"Enter," Snape said.

I walked into the classroom.

"Today you will be reading the first one-hundred pages of your textbook and then making a potion to cure boils," Snape said.

"Is that it?" I asked him.

"For now," he responded.

I nodded and grabbed a textbook. I sat down and read the textbook. After about an hour, I finished the one-hundred pages and quickly made the potion.

"Done," I said.

"I'll be the judge of that, Mr. Longbottom, please come here," Snape said.

Neville walked forward and his face was covered in boils.

"What happened to you?" I asked him.

"Long story," he said.

"Now, these boils will disappear if you made your potion correctly," Snape said.

He took a spoon and dripped the potion on Neville's face. The boils then fell off his face and landed on the floor.

"Mr. Longbottom, you may leave. Clean this up, Macnair," Snape said to me.

Neville looked at me with some gratitude for getting the boils off his face. I nodded and began sweeping up his boils and then throwing them away.

"You are dismissed," Snape said.

"Could I ask one question, sir?" I asked him.

"I suppose," he muttered impatiently.

"Did I do a good job in making the Potion?" I asked him.

"Obviously it was a successful brew as Mr. Longbottom's face didn't fall off along with the boils," Snape growled impatiently.

I just nodded and left the dungeon. I ran over to the Great Hall and sat down for dinner. There was a lot to eat there. I didn't know what to choose.

"You're still alive?" Ron asked me as he and Harry sat down

"Yeah," I said.

"What did you have to do?" Ron asked me.

"I had to read a hundred pages in my textbook and do that boil potion for Neville," I said.

"I thought Seamus took him to the nurse?" Harry questioned me.

"No, Snape pulled me out of class for Ben to perform the potion on me," Neville said, appearing suddenly.

"So Snape risked me melting your face to teach me a lesson?" I asked myself.

"Looks like it, but you sure showed him," Neville said.

"Hey Longbottom, what has less brains and a face full of boils?" Malfoy asked.

"You," I said, pulling my wand out.

I whipped it up and Malfoy's face became covered in boils. Crabbe and Goyle were about to charge, but McGonagall descended down upon me.

"Explain yourselves; right now," McGonagall growled.

"Malfoy was bullying Neville," I explained.

"Then, I suggest that you allow Neville to fight his own battles, and for it Gryffindor loses two points and Slytherin loses five points for the each of you," McGonagall said, nodding at Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle.

I laughed on the inside. Gryffindor may have lost two more points because of me, but Slytherin lost fifteen points because of me.

"Now, Mr. Malfoy, come with me to Madam Pomfrey, so we can get rid of your boils," McGonagall said, leading the three Slytherins away.

We all had smiles when we walked into the Gryffindor Common Room.

The next day, all the first year Gryffindors and Slytherins had to go to Flying class. Madam Hooch, the flying instructor, had short, white spiky hair and piercing, yellow eyes. Neville was flashing something in his hand that he had received from his grandmother. It was something called a Remembrall.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Everyone stand by a broomstick. Come on, hurry up!" she barked.

We all stood by a broomstick that laid across the floor.

"Well, I guess we're not going to use these to sweep up the field," I joked.

There were a few laughs.

"That's a point from Gryffindor," Madam Hooch said.

Those laughs then turned to glares. I was making quite a few enemies.

"Raise your right hand over your broom and say "up"," Madam Hooch said.

I raised my hand over my broom and said "up". It shot up through the air and went straight to my hand. It also happened to Harry. Malfoy had to say "up" about five times before his broom went to his hand. Ron kept saying up as well. His broom went up and hit him in the face. I tried not to laugh. Hermione had many problems. Her broom just jiggled on the ground.

It took about thirty minutes for everyone to have their broom in their hands.

"Good, now Harry and Ben. You two get a point each for getting your brooms up in one shot," Madam Hooch said to us.

I felt some satisfaction.

"Now, I want you to mount your brooms and lift off the ground," Madam Hooch said.

We mounted our brooms and they lifted off the ground slightly.

"Excellent job to the both of you, Potter and Macnair. Five points to the both of you!" Hooch exclaimed.

Suddenly Neville's broom shot off through the air.

"Mr. Longbottom! Come back here!" Madam Hooch called out.

"I would if I could!" Neville called back.

He suddenly plowed straight into one of the towers and fell fifty feet toward the ground. Luckily, he was caught by an overhang. That stopped a surely fatal fall. Neville suddenly slipped out of his robes and landed on the ground.

Madam Hooch and all the Gryffindors ran over to make sure he was okay.

"A broken wrist," Madam Hooch muttered as she led Neville away.

"If I see one person on their broom they will have detention until they graduate!" Hooch called out as she disappeared with Neville.

I noticed that Malfoy had a big grin on his face and had something in his hand.

"Look, that loser dropped his Remembrall," he said.

Harry saw this too and we both approached him.

"Give it back, Malfoy!" Harry barked.

Everyone looked at them. Malfoy smiled nastily.

"I think I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to find… how about… up a tree?" Malfoy asked.

"Give it _here_!" Harry yelled, lunging for Malfoy.

Malfoy suddenly hopped on his broom and flew off.

"Come and get it, Potter!" he called down at him.

Harry grabbed a broom, but Hermione interjected.

"_No_! Madam Hooch told us not to move… you'll get us all into trouble," Hermione said.

Harry ignored her and lifted off toward Malfoy. Soon Crabbe and Goyle joined the fray. I grabbed my broom.

"Ben, don't you _dare_!" Hermione exclaimed at me.

"Well, I sure as hell ain't gonna let them knock him around," I said, lifting off the ground.

Goyle lunged toward Harry, but I intercepted him, and kicked the crony in the chest, knocking him off his broom. He hit the ground with a thud, but was unharmed.

"There, now this is an even fight! Harry, I'll handle big ugly over here. You go get Malfoy!" I shouted at Harry.

He nodded and shot toward Malfoy. Crabbe tried hitting me out of the sky, but I dropped suddenly and he went straight over me. Crabbe then dove toward the ground and picked up a rock the size of a baseball. He then chucked it at me. I let a curse out and swung my broom like a bat, hitting the rock squarely and sent it back into Crabbe's face. He fell to the ground as well.

Suddenly, I saw Harry shoot past me like a rocket and catch something. All of Gryffindor cheered for us as we landed.

"HARRY POTTER AND BEN MACNAIR!" Professor McGonagall bellowed at us as she stormed over.

"_Never_… in my time at Hogwarts…" she said, trying to catch her breath.

Madam Hooch soon ran over as well.

"How _dare_ you two… you two could've broken your necks!" she snapped at us.

"It wasn't their faults, Professor…," an Indian girl named Parvati Patil tried defending us.

"Be quiet, Miss Patil…," McGonagall said.

"But Malfoy…," Ron said.

"That's _enough_, Mr. Weasely. Potter and Macnair, follow me, now. Madam Hooch, please take Mr. Crabbe and Mr. Goyle to Madam Pomfrey," McGonagall said as she led Harry and I away.

I managed to catch the sneering look Malfoy had on his face.

"Did you get the Remembrall?" I asked Harry in a whisper.

He nodded and showed me the object in his hand.


	8. The Dream

**The Dream**

McGonagall led Harry and me through the castle.

"Do you think she'll turn us to toads?" I asked Harry.

"I will _not _turn you into toads, even though I can, but that is not an appropriate punishment for a magical educator to do," McGonagall said sharply.

She led us to a classroom and opened the door. The teacher stood under two-feet-tall and was busy teaching a Charms class.

"Professor Flitwick, may I see Wood?" McGonagall said.

"Is she going to hit us with a piece of wood?" Harry asked me.

"I'm not going to beat you two, now quiet!" McGonagall snapped at us.

Wood turned out to be a burly fifth-year.

"Oliver Wood, this is Harry Potter and Ben Macnair. I think I may have found you a Seeker and a new Beater," McGonagall said.

"Really? These first-years?" Wood asked her.

I was as tall as Wood, but he was slightly larger.

"Potter caught that Remembrall in his hand after a fifty foot dive and came up without a scratch and Macnair used his broom to hit a rock thrown at him and hit another student in the face and he defended Mr. Potter in his attempts to receive the Remembrall," McGonagall said.

"Well, no offense Macnair, but you'll only be a backup for the Weasley twins," Wood said to me.

"Hey, knowing those two, they'd get suspended for all the trouble they get in," I said.

"We heard that," Fred and George said in unison as they stood on either side of me.

"Aren't you two supposed to be in class?" McGonagall asked them.

"Maybe," Fred responded.

"Come on Professor, obviously you need us to teach Big Ben the ropes of how to be a Beater," George said.

"True, take Mr. Macnair to teach him," McGonagall said.

"And I'll teach Harry the basics of Quidditch," Wood said.

"Just no one is allowed to blurt this out to anybody. I want to see the faces of those Slytherins when we unleash our secret weapon," McGonagall said, walking away.

"Weapons!" I called after her.

"Come on, Ben," Fred said, taking my left arm.

"Yeah, let's begin making you a Beater," George said, taking my right arm.

They then dragged me across the castle and to a small closet to pick up three brooms and a case that moved. The twins then led me out of the castle and toward a large stadium with sixteen stands that surrounded it.

"This here, Ben, is Hogwarts's Quidditch Pitch," Fred said.

It was a large, oval-shaped field about five-hundred feet long and a-hundred-and-eighty feet wide. There were three posts of different heights on either side of the field and sand outlined the whole field with grass in the center.

"Alright, Fred, let's go over the fouls of Quidditch," George said.

"Yes, George, let's," Fred agreed.

"Foul number one, Blagging. This is called when any player attempts to grab the tail of another player's broom," George said.

"Foul number two, Blatching. This is called when any player attempts to collide with another player," Fred said.

"Damn, so that means I can't knock any Slytherins off their brooms," I said.

"Just wait, Ben," George said.

"Foul number three, Blurting. This is called when any player attempts to lock broom handles with the intent to steer an opponent off course," Fred said.

"Hey, it was my turn!" George complained.

"Alright, you can have the next two," Fred said.

"Thank you. Foul number four, Bumphing. This is for us, we're not allowed to hit Bludgers at the stands," George said.

"What's a Bludger?" I asked them.

"Patience, Ben. Foul number five, Cobbing. Do not elbow another player," George said.

They went over the five next fouls and I paid attention. Finally, they got ready to tell me what a Bludger was.

"A Bludger is an iron ball that's been bewitched to fly around and it people in the heads," Fred said.

"It's our jobs to hit them away from our teammates and at the Slytherins," George said.

"So we _can_ knock them off their brooms," Fred said.

"Yep, and these are our bats," George said, handing me a bat.

It was shorter than the bat that's used in baseball, but it was broader and stronger.

"Now, get ready, these Bludgers hit hard," Fred warned me.

"Has anyone ever been killed by a Bludger?" I asked them.

"No, just a broken jaw," George said.

They both opened the case and a black ball flew out and zipped around in the air.

"Here it comes! Swing at the bastard!" Fred yelled at me.

I swung my bat perfectly and smacked the Bludger across the field. The Bludger; however, wasn't phased and came straight back.

"Ready, get it Fred!" George shouted at Fred.

They dove onto the Bludger and wrestled it back into the case.

"There, that's all you need to know, really. Just hit those Bludgers at the Slytherins and watch Harry's back," Fred said.

"That's easy enough," I said.

"Yep, and watch your back as well," George said.

I nodded and went about the rest of my day, which included detention where I organized books for Snape, and ignoring Ron's frequent questions on how I was punished. Soon enough it was time for bed and I laid down on the bed and quickly fell asleep.

The dream I had the night was strange. I was standing in a cemetery, looking down at the grave. I looked closer at the grave and read the name that was carved on it.

"Emmitt Macnair…," I read and then I fell to my knees.

I shook my head, over and over and over again. Then I felt a hand set down gently on my right shoulder. I looked up and saw a beautiful girl with long, dirty blonde hair and grey eyes.

"It's okay, Ben," she said to me in a low voice.

I looked at her and woke up. It was morning and I was in a complete shock. I got out of bed quickly and ran to where the owls were kept and found Banshee. I sent an urgent message to Emmitt asking whether or not he was okay. I sent Banshee off and felt my nerves taking over for the rest of the day.


	9. The Midnight Duel

**The Midnight Duel **

I got a message back immediately. I had to give it to Banshee. He flew very fast and dropped the message on my lap. I read it.

"Ben, I'm fine, I promise you that it was just a dream. Do not worry about it," the message said.

I let out a sigh of relief and now my attention was on the blonde girl that was in my dream. She looked like a slightly older version of the blonde girl that was reading the magazine upside down in Diagon Alley. I sat at the breakfast table thinking my whole dream over. I then remembered something that disturbed me. The year of death for my Godfather was 1993 and it was 1991 right now. I was starting to think that this dream was a premonition.

"Hey Ben," Neville greeted me.

"Hey Neville, how's your wrist?" I asked him.

"It's fine, Madam Pomfrey is one hell of a nurse. I've been there a lot so far," Neville said.

"Well, if it isn't the two freaks," Malfoy said to us as he and his two cronies approached.

"And you say that like it's supposed to be insulting," I responded.

Malfoy glared at me. Crabbe and Goyle tried making themselves appear larger like the little snakes they are. I wasn't afraid.

"Get out of here, Malfoy," Neville said a bit shakily.

"Why don't you make me, loser!?" Malfoy responded.

Neville looked at me briefly.

"I'll take the two ugly ones," I said.

I stood to my feet and prepared for the fight.

"What is going on?" Snape asked us as he towered over us.

"Nothing," I said, sitting back down.

Snape looked at me briefly.

"Don't be late for detention, Mr. Macnair," Snape said.

I saw Malfoy's sneer and he laughed. Snape then backhanded him across the head.

"Go to your House table, Mr. Malfoy," Snape growled.

Malfoy and his two cronies scampered off and Snape departed out of the Great Hall. Harry and Ron soon arrived and approached Neville and myself.

"Morning," Harry said.

Malfoy stormed over immediately.

"Potter, I challenge you and Macnair to a duel at midnight for making me look like a fool!" he exclaimed.

"Malfoy, you make yourself look like a fool," I muttered.

He glared at me.

"Midnight. The Trophy Room, be there the both of you," Malfoy growled.

"Harry Potter and Ben Macnair, don't you _dare_ leave the dorm after hours," Hermione snapped at both of us.

"You're not the boss of either of us," I pointed out.

"We'll be there Malfoy and I'll be sure to beat you," Harry said.

"I'll be there too, since Crabbe and Goyle will surely be there, I'll be glad to knock them on their rears," Ron said.

"You three will cause Gryffindor to lose more points. Don't you care about your House?" Hermione complained to us.

"Hermione, let us do this," I said.

"Yeah, leave us alone," Ron muttered.

"You're all going down," Malfoy growled, walking off.

Hermione just glared at us.

Later that night, Harry, Ron, and I got out of bed and went to the Common Room.

"Wait, the Fat Lady might be there," I pointed out.

"Well, there's only one way to find out if she's there," Ron said, opening the portal door.

Thankfully, the Fat Lady was not in her portal and we walked out into the hall. Hermione stood right there in the hall in her pink pajamas, glaring at us.

"I almost told your brother. He's a prefect, he'd put a stop to this," Hermione said.

"Why didn't you?" I asked her.

"I don't know, I was making sure that you three didn't go through with this," Hermione said.

We got out of the portal and it closed behind us.

"No, now we're all trapped here until the Fat Lady comes back," Hermione said.

"Well, I guess we should go to the Trophy Room then," I said.

We all walked the halls until I almost tripped over someone sleeping in the hallway. I looked down and saw Neville sleeping on the floor.

"Neville, what the hell are you doing here?" I asked him.

"I forgot the password and couldn't get in," he said, yawning.

"Well, we're going to go duel Malfoy and his cronies, want to watch?" I asked him.

"Sure," Neville said, standing to his feet.

We all quietly made our ways to the Trophy Room, but Malfoy wasn't there.

"Where is he?" I questioned.

"I don't know," Harry responded.

Suddenly I heard a shuffling noise. I turned around and saw a cat with piercing, red eyes looking up at us.

"Guys," I said, gathering everyone's attention.

Everyone else looked down at the cat as it twitched its tail back and forth.

"That's Mrs. Norris, Filch's cat," Hermione said.

"Who's Filch?" I asked her.

"He's the caretaker of the castle. He wanders around at night, looking for kids breaking the rules, and his cat helps him," Hermione said.

"I really hate cats," I muttered, getting ready to punt this fur ball.

Mrs. Norris hissed at me at ran out of the room.

"She's going to get Filch, we need to go, now!" Ron said sharply.

We all ran out of the Trophy Room and up the staircases. I heard footsteps following us as we got to the third floor.

"Aww man, we're about to get caught," I said as we got to a locked door.

"Not quite, _Alohomora_!" Hermione called out, unlocking the door with a spell.

"Nice one, Brainiac," I said, smiling at her.

We all went into the room and closed the door as Filch and his cat ran past. We all let out a sigh of relief, but we weren't paying attention to what was behind us.

I felt the hot breath on the back of my neck and a heavy pile of drool hit Ron on the top of his head. We all turned around and saw a massive, three-headed dog snarling down at us. It looked hungry. We all let out a yell and ran out of the door. Ron, Harry, and I slammed the door shut before the dog could escape and locked it.

"Bloody hell, why are they keeping that beast in a school full of children!?" Ron called out.

"To protect the trapdoor it was standing on," Hermione said.

"What trapdoor?" Ron asked her.

"The one it was standing on, _hello_, I just said that," Hermione responded.

"Sorry, I was busy staring at its mouths and not at its feet," Ron countered.

"Shut up, the both of you, Filch is still lurking," I said.

"Yeah, let's just go back to the Common Room, the Fat Lady should be back there by now," Neville said.

"Yeah, let's get back to the Common Room before we get killed, or even worse, _expelled_," Hermione agreed.

We all made it back to the Common Room together without running into Filch. Malfoy must've tipped him off about the "duel" to get us in trouble. I couldn't wait to get him back for that.


	10. Halloween

**Halloween**

The next morning, Harry, Ron, and I were sitting at the breakfast table discussing the three-headed dog and the trapdoor it was standing over.

"It must've been guarding something," Harry said.

"Yeah, but what?" I asked him.

"I don't know…," Harry responded.

Suddenly Banshee and Hedwig came flying in carrying two large packages. They dropped them down on the table in front of Harry and me.

"What the hell?" Ron asked us.

"We both have notes," I pointed out.

I took the note and read it.

"Dear Mr. Macnair, I want you and Mr. Potter to report to Quidditch practice immediately every day after school. I have already excused you from your detentions with Professor Snape, so those will not be an issue. McGonagall," I read.

Harry and I immediately unwrapped our packages and revealed two broomsticks.

"Those are Nimbus 2000s!" Ron exclaimed.

Soon, most of Gryffindor crowded around us and looked our brooms over. I looked over the crowd and saw Professor McGonagall nod at Harry and me.

"Well, let's get started," I said, standing to my feet.

Harry followed me, but Malfoy got in our way.

"First years aren't allowed to own brooms!" he exclaimed, pointing at us.

Malfoy then turned to Professor Flitwick.

"Congratulations, Potter, I can't wait to see the both of you in action," Flitwick said.

Malfoy looked enraged. He stormed back over to Slytherin table and sat down between Crabbe and Goyle. Harry and I then made our way to the Quidditch Pitch to begin our training.

Weeks went by and soon enough Halloween came around. We still had class that day. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville, Seamus, and I all sat in a row with feathers in front of us.

"Practice it, students, _Wingardium Leviosa_," Professor Flitwick said, levitating the feather in front of him.

Ron pulled his wand out.

"_Wingardium Leviosa_," he said, but his feather remained still.

He looked at the feather.

"I think my feather is broken," he said.

"No, you're just saying it wrong," Hermione said.

"Oh, what do you know," Ron responded.

"It's Wing-gar-dium Levi-o-sa, make the 'gar' nice and long," Hermione said.

"Well, if you think you're so smart, you do it then," Ron responded.

"Fine, _Wingardium Leviosa_," Hermione said and her feather began lifting into the air.

"Ooh, everyone, look at Hermione's feather! Five points to Gryffindor!" Flitwick exclaimed.

Hermione looked happy at her accomplishment. Ron did not.

After class, Harry, Ron, Neville, Seamus, and I were walking together. Ron was ranting about Hermione.

"It's _Wingardium Leviosa_, not _Wingardium Leviosa_. She thinks she's so smart and so much better than everyone else, it's no wonder why she hasn't any friends," Ron ranted.

Suddenly someone pushed through us. She had bushy, brown hair and heard everything Ron said about her.

"I think she heard you, Ron," Harry stated the obvious.

Later that day, we all sat down in the Great Hall for the Halloween Feast. Hermione was nowhere to be found. A Gryffindor girl, Lavender Brown, told us she was crying in the girl's bathroom.

Suddenly the massive doors opened and Professor Quirrell ran in.

"TROLL! TROLL IN THE DUNGEON! TROLL! Thought you might want to know," Quirrell called out suddenly before fainting in the Main Hall.

All of the students began screaming in fear.

"SILENCE!" Dumbledore called out suddenly.

We all went silent and looked at the Headmaster.

"House Heads and prefects, escort all students to their Common Rooms immediately. Then can all teachers meet me back here so we may take care of this nuisance," Dumbledore said.

"Gryffindor, please follow me!" Professor McGonagall called out.

All of Gryffindor House stood to their feet and followed the witch and Percy Weasley. Suddenly, realization hit me in the face like a meaty punch. Hermione was not with us and did not know about the troll. Harry realized this too.

"We have to go find her," I said.

Harry and Ron nodded. The three of us slowed down and split off from the rest of the Gryffindor students. We ran down a hall toward the girl's bathroom. We rounded a corner, but I grabbed both Harry and Ron and pulled them back around the corner.

Walking across the perpendicular hall was a twelve-foot-tall monster. It dragged a massive club behind it as it lumbered around toward the girl's bathroom.

"Come on!" I called out, running for the bathroom.

I got to the door and I heard a scream. Harry, Ron, and I burst into the bathroom and saw the troll trying to crush Hermione with its club.

"_Incendio_!" I shouted.

A fireball was produced from the tip of my wand and flew through the air, hitting the troll in the back of the head. That didn't do anything, except piss it off. The troll turned to us and swung its club down at us. Harry and Ron dove off to one side and I dove off to the other.

I clambered over to where Hermione was hiding underneath a sink.

"Hi," I greeted her with a smile.

"Watch out!" she screamed, pointing up at the troll.

It was about to swing its club down at us.

"_Wingardium Leviosa_!" Ron called out suddenly.

The club slipped out of the troll's hand and floated up into the air. The troll stared up at the club and pulled it down with ease. It turned to Harry and Ron and yanked Harry off the ground.

"Let go of him!" Ron shouted, trying to get Harry, but the troll pulled Harry higher into the air.

Harry tried to pull a spell off, but he was too close to the troll's face and stuck his wand up the troll's nose. The troll glared at Harry.

"_Obscuro_!" I shouted.

A blindfold appeared and tied around the troll's head, blinding it.

"_Wingardium Leviosa_!" Hermione called out.

Harry floated out of the troll's grasp and descended safely to the ground. The troll pulled its blindfold off and was ready to swing its club at Harry and Ron.

"_Wingardium Leviosa_!" Ron shouted again.

The club yanked out of the troll's grasp and floated up in the air above the troll's head. The club then fell and hit the troll on the top of the head. The troll stumbled around and fell forward.

"Did I kill it?" Ron asked.

"No, you just knocked it out," I said, standing to my feet.

I approached the unconscious troll and looked at it. Harry then pulled his wand out of its nose and it was covered in snot.

"Gross, troll bogeys," Harry said, wiping the snot off his wand on the floor of the bathroom.

Suddenly several teachers ran in.

"Merlin's Beard, what _has _happened!?" Professor McGonagall asked us.

"Um…," I tried coming up with an excuse.

"They came to save me," Hermione interjected.

"Miss Granger?" Professor McGonagall questioned her in surprise.

"I heard that the troll was in the castle… I've read about them and I thought I could handle it. I was wrong, and if these three hadn't come, I'd be dead," Hermione said.

"Miss Granger, you are an absolute fool if you could _ever_ think that you could handle a twelve-foot mountain troll on your own at your age. Fifty points from Gryffindor," McGonagall said.

Harry, Ron, and I let out a groan.

"As for you three, thanks to your stupid bravery, you've saved a fellow student's life. Fifty points _each_ for Gryffindor," McGonagall said.

Harry, Ron, and I jumped around in glee.

"Professor Quirrell, as we all know, you have a gift for trolls. You shall remove this troll. As for you four, get to bed," McGonagall said.

We all nodded and walked through the field of teachers, receiving a smiling nod from Dumbledore. Snape glared at us. I then noticed that his leg was bleeding and his robes were torn. He saw Harry and I see his robes and he turned from us and walked away.

Moreover, from that moment on, Hermione was one of our best friends.


	11. Quidditch

**Quidditch**

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and I had become celebrities amongst Gryffindor for taking down a mountain troll and coming out alive afterwards. Harry and I had to ignore them all since the first Quidditch game of the season was tomorrow.

Hermione had checked out a book from the library called, _Quidditch Through the Ages_, and let Harry and I borrow it to study.

The four of us were walking outside of the castle, towards Hagrid's hut, when Snape practically swooped down on us like a grim reaper.

"Library books are not allowed to go outside of the castle walls, Potter, that'll be five points from Gryffindor," Snape said, snatching the book from him.

"We were studying for the Quidditch game!" I protested.

"Do not backtalk me, Macnair, five more points from Gryffindor," Snape said.

I just stopped talking and Snape walked away. I noticed something strange. Snape was walking with a limp.

"I'll be back," Harry said, walking away.

"Where you going?" I asked him.

"I'm going to try and get the book back," Harry said.

"Alright, but if you get more than ten points taken away, just walk away," I said.

Harry nodded and walked off in the direction Snape did.

Ron, Hermione, and I waited in the Gryffindor Common Room for Harry and he came running in.

"Snape just admitted to Filch that he had been bitten by that three-headed dog," he said.

"Are you sure?" I asked him.

"Yeah, he was limping really badly. I think he put the troll in the dungeon to distract everyone so he could get to whatever that dog is guarding," Harry said.

"Harry, be logical. Why would Professor Snape do that, he's a teacher?" Hermione questioned him.

"Just because he's a teacher doesn't mean he's incapable of doing something bad," I said.

"Hermione, why else would he try to get past that monster?" Harry asked her.

"I don't know, it just seems really unlikely," Hermione said.

"Either way, we can't worry about it right now, because we have a game tomorrow," I interjected.

"Yeah, so that means you two should go to bed," Fred said as he and George appeared out of nowhere.

"Well, mostly Harry since he's starting," George added.

"Gee, thanks guys," I said.

"Don't worry, Ben, if either of us gets hurt or in trouble, you can play," Fred said.

"Guess I'll be playing a lot then, knowing you two," I said.

"What are you trying to say, that you're hoping we get hurt?" George questioned me.

"No, just that you two get in trouble a lot," I said.

"Says you," Fred responded.

"Fine, _we _get in trouble," I said.

"That's true, now get to bed the both of you," George said, pushing Harry and I up the stairs into our dorms.

The next day, I was in my Quidditch uniform, and standing behind Fred and George. Oliver Wood stood in the middle of the Gryffindor Quidditch team with Harry standing next to him. Then there were the Chasers, second-year Katie Bell, third-year Angelina Johnson, and third-year Alicia Spinnet. On the other side of us was the Slytherin Team.

Madam Hooch stood in the middle of the field and placed the tip of her wand against the side of her neck.

"Welcome Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to the beginning of the Quidditch Season! Today's match is between the Gryffindors and the Slytherins!" she announced as if she was talking into a loudspeaker.

The stands went into a deafening applause.

"Now, will both Captains step forward to shake hands and then we can start this game!" Madam Hooch said.

The Slytherin Captain, a tall sixth-year with God-awful teeth named Marcus Flint, walked from the Slytherin side of the Pitch. Wood walked up as well and shook Flint's hand. They turned and walked back to their respective sides.

"I will now release the Golden Snitch!" Madam Hooch announced.

She bent down and unlatched a tiny golden ball that stretched out thin wings to fly up in the sky and disappear from sight.

"Now, everyone that's starting today, mount your brooms and rise!" Madam Hooch announced.

Everyone, but me climbed onto his or her brooms and lifted off into the sky. I stood off to the side, by the stands, and watched.

"I want a nice, clean game!" Hooch shouted as she threw a scarlet ball into the air.

She then released the two Bludgers and the game began.

"THE QUAFFLE HAS BEEN RELEASED, THUS STARTING THE GAME! JOHNSON HAS POSSESSION OF IT AND FLIES IN BETWEEN SLYTHERIN PLAYERS TO SCORE THE FIRST GOAL! GRYFFINDOR IS UP TEN POINTS TO ZERO!" Lee Jordan, the commentator for the game, announced.

The Gryffindor students went into applause. Suddenly, Harry and Slytherin's Seeker, Terrence Higgs, both shot off in the same direction.

"IT SEEMS THAT BOTH SEEKERS HAVE LOCATED THE SNITCH!" Lee announced.

Suddenly, Marcus Flint rammed into Harry, causing Hooch to blow onto her whistle.

"WHAT AN OBVIOUS DISPLAY OF CHEATING AS FLINT TRIED TO KILL POTTER!" Lee announced.

Alicia Spinnet was then allowed to throw in another goal, allowing Gryffindor to go up twenty-to-zero. Fred and George were flying around, smacking the Bludgers at the opposing players. Suddenly Fred was hit in the leg by a Bludger and it snapped the back of his broom off. He spun to the ground and hit the grass.

"OOH, AFTER A NASTY BLUDGER HIT TO FRED WEASLEY, HE IS KNOCKED OUT OF THE GAME! NOW BEN MACNAIR SUBSTITUTES HIM!" Lee announced.

This was surreal, I was about to start my first Quidditch game. I grabbed my broom and lifted off into the air with my bat in hand. I flew around the Pitch, trying to smack the Bludgers at the Slytherins, but I found it harder than I had anticipated.

Soon enough, we were losing sixty-to-twenty. Suddenly Harry's broom lurched out from beneath him and ne nearly fell. George and I raced over to help him back onto his broom as it began moving back and forth, trying to knock him off.

I turned and saw a Bludger coming straight for Harry's head. I swung my bat as hard as I could, knocking the Bludger back for a homerun, and hitting Marcus Flint in the face in the process, knocking him out of the game.

"Yeah!" I shouted.

"MARCUS FLINT HAS JUST BEEN HIT IN THE FACE BY A BLUDGER HIT BY MACNAIR! SERVES THAT NO-GOOD CHEATER RIGHT!" Lee announced.

Gryffindor went into applause after that. George got Harry back on his broom and it didn't try to throw him off after that. Then he must've seen the Snitch because he shot off like a rocket. Higgs also saw it and flew right after it. I was busy hitting Bludgers at the other Slytherin players to notice that Harry had crashed.

I looked down at the field below and saw Harry, looking like he was about to throw up. I dove down to help my friend right as he spat out the Golden Snitch.

"HARRY POTTER HAS CAUGHT THE GOLDEN SNITCH! HARRY POTTER HAS CAUGHT THE GOLDEN SNITCH! GRYFFINDOR GETS A HUNDRED AND FIFTY POINTS AND ENDS THE GAME WITH A VICTORY OVER SLYTHERIN WITH A HUNDRED AND SEVENTY POINTS TO SIXTY POINTS!" Lee announced.

I pumped my fist into the air and yelled out. Harry looked at me and nodded. I just gave him a thumb's up.


	12. Home for the Holidays

**Home for the Holidays**

After the game, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and I went to Hagrid's hut. He opened the door and a massive dog came running out. Its jowls had massive piles of drool dripping down from it. The dog tackled Ron and began to lick his face. I was a bit afraid that Ron might drown.

"Fang, get off of him!" Hagrid exclaimed, pulling the dog off with one arm.

Ron sat up and looked bewildered. The right side of his hair was soaked and stuck up from the slobber. I couldn't help but laugh.

"Bloody hell, what was that?" Ron asked Hagrid.

"This here is Fang, he's my Boarhound," Hagrid said.

"He's huge!" Ron exclaimed.

"Quit whining, Ron," I said, walking into Hagrid's hut.

His hut was consisted of two circular buildings that were connected together. Inside consisted of a bed that was as big as my whole dorm room back in the castle and several large chairs.

"Sit down anywhere," Hagrid said, putting Fang down.

I sat down on one chair and Hermione squeezed in next to me. Ron and Harry sat on another chair together and Hagrid sat on a third.

"Why was your broom trying to buck you off?" I asked Harry.

"Snape was putting a curse on him!" Ron exclaimed.

"What!?" Hagrid thundered.

"We saw Snape muttering a curse and looking directly at Harry, it only stopped when I set his robes on fire," Hermione said.

"Snape wouldn't've tried ter kill Harry, he's a teacher!" Hagrid thundered.

"Well, he did release the troll on Halloween so he could get to whatever that three-headed dog was guarding," Harry said.

"How do you four know about Fluffy!?" Hagrid asked us.

"You know that monster?" Ron asked Hagrid.

"Course I do, he's mine," Hagrid said.

"Why do you have a dangerous monster like that in a place full of kids?" I asked Hagrid.

"He's guarding something that only Albus Dumbledore and Nicolas Flamel know about!" Hagrid bellowed.

We looked at him.

"I shouldn't've said that," he said.

"Who's Nicolas Flamel?" Harry asked Hagrid.

"He's no one, don't go asking about him. There are some things ya kids shouldn't be triflin' with," Hagrid warned us.

"Well, we must be going, Hagrid, you know, do homework," Hermione said, pulling all three of us out of Hagrid's hut.

"I wonder what Fluffy is guarding?" I asked myself.

Soon enough, it was Christmas time. Hermione and I were heading back home for the holidays, but Harry and Ron were staying at Hogwarts. Ron was staying because his mom and dad were going to visit his older brother Charlie in Romania. Harry was staying because his aunt and uncle didn't want him to come home.

We were sitting in the Great Hall for the Christmas Feast when Malfoy suddenly came over.

"My father's taking me to Italy for Christmas, where are your parents taking you, Potter? Oh yeah, you don't have any!" Malfoy exclaimed.

Malfoy would've been a dead man if McGonagall wasn't there, because all of Gryffindor stood to their feet and had their wands out to perform various curses on him.

"Fifty points from Slytherin and a month's detention for you, Mr. Malfoy, now go back to your table!" McGonagall exclaimed.

Malfoy ran off and the Gryffindor table exploded in applause.

I got on the Hogwarts Express with Hermione and waved goodbye to Harry, Ron, and Hagrid. The train set off and we sat back and waited.

"So, what're your plans?" I asked Hermione.

"The typical Christmas with my parents, and then I'm doing research on Nicolas Flamel," she said.

"Why?" I asked her.

"I want to know what Fluffy is guarding," Hermione said.

"Aren't you afraid of breaking some rules?" I asked her teasingly.

"Oh, be quiet," Hermione responded.

"Well, well, young love is at its work here boys!" Malfoy exclaimed, appearing with Crabbe and Goyle at his side.

I stood up and drew my wand, pointing right at Malfoy's chin.

"Give me a reason not to set your faces on fire," I said, dangerously.

"You'll be expelled!" Malfoy practically screamed.

"I'm used to it," I said.

"Your Godfather will be seriously upset," Emmitt said, appearing behind the three Slytherins.

I lowered my wand and backed off.

"So, these are the little pricks that have been needing a good ass kicking?" Emmitt asked me.

"Yeah, you should've heard what Blondie said to Harry Potter," I said.

"What _did _he say?" Emmitt asked.

"Nothing!" Malfoy screeched.

He and his cronies were trapped between Emmitt and me.

"He was making fun of him for not having any parents," I said.

Emmitt suddenly grabbed all three Slytherins by the back of their robes and lifted them off the ground.

"I should've let my Godson light your damned faces on fire, now get the hell out of here!" Emmitt shouted, throwing the three forward.

"My father will here of this, you stupid Squib!" Malfoy shouted as he ran.

"_Ventus_!" I shouted, pointing my wand at them.

A gust of wind was produced from the tip of my wand, blasting Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle down the length of the train car before knocking them against the back of the car.

"Good job, Ben," Emmitt said, patting me on the back.

He then walked into the compartment and looked at Hermione.

"So, this is your girlfriend?" Emmitt asked me.

Hermione turned scarlet.

"No, she's just my friend," I responded calmly.

"Hey, Cherry Face, calm down, I'm just messing with you," Emmitt said to Hermione.

She remained quiet and red.

"So, how're your classes?" Emmitt asked, sitting down across from Hermione.

I sat down next to him.

"Uh… I only cussed out one of my teachers," I said.

"And lost us twenty points on the first day," Hermione pointed out.

"You caused us fifty points," I pointed out.

"After saving you from expulsion," Hermione pointed out.

"Hey, they wouldn't have expelled _me_," I said.

"Wait… I'm really confused," Emmitt said, interrupting us.

We told him the whole story from Ron insulting Hermione to us taking down the troll and saving Hermione's life.

"You used _Incendio _on a troll?" Emmitt asked me.

I nodded.

"That's my Godson," Emmitt said.

I smiled. It felt good to be praised for once.

"I'm also on the Quidditch team at school," I said.

"What!? Are you serious!?" Emmitt exclaimed at me.

"Yeah, but I'm only a backup Beater," I said.

"Have you played any?" Emmitt asked me.

"Yeah, I came in the last game because one of the other Beaters got hurt. I knocked a Bludger away from Harry and hit the Slytherin Captain in the face," I said.

"That's my boy," Emmitt said, patting my back.

I was really going to have a good Christmas.


	13. Christmas

**Christmas**

Hogwarts Express pulled to a stop at Platform 9¾ and we all got off.

"Those are my parents, see you after the holidays," Hermione said, smiling at me.

She left to her parents, who looked oddly uncomfortable.

"Come on, the old car has been missing you," Emmitt said, leading me off.

We left Platform 9¾ and I saw the old El Camino waiting for us.

"Man, I've missed this car," I said as I sat in the passenger seat.

"I've missed you," Emmitt admitted, sitting in the driver seat after putting all my things in the bed.

"Same here," I said.

Emmitt then drove off away from the train station and back toward the small flat outside of London. Emmitt and I carried in my things and Banshee began flapping madly as his cage was moved.

"Calm down, Bird Brain," I said, putting him down on the nightstand by my bed.

Banshee ruffled his feathers at the insult. I collapsed on the bed and looked up at the ceiling. Emmitt then knocked on my open door. I sat up.

"Want to go to Diagon Alley tomorrow?" he asked me.

"Why?" I asked him.

"To go to this ice cream parlor called Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor, it's really good," Emmitt said.

"Sure," I said.

Emmitt then left and I looked at Banshee. The owl tilted his head and hooted. I grabbed some owl pellets and fed him before lying back down and going to sleep.

The next morning was Christmas Eve and Emmitt and I went to Diagon Alley.

"Ben, you know that letter you sent me about the dream. Want to tell me more about that?" Emmitt asked me as we walked down the

I sighed.

"I was standing over your grave and crying, but the strange thing was that the year was 1994," I said.

"Three years from now?" Emmitt asked me.

"Yeah," I said.

"Well, I still think it was just a dream," Emmitt said.

We got to the ice cream parlor and sat in the patio section.

"Here, I'll go get us our ice cream," Emmitt said as he got up to leave.

"You know which one I like," I said.

Emmitt nodded and went inside the parlor to put our orders in. I sat there at the table and glanced around at the other people sitting out on the patio.

Suddenly I saw a flash of blonde hair and I directed all of my attention to it. That same blonde-haired girl from my first time in Diagon Alley and my dream was sitting on the other side of the patio. She was sitting with an older man I assumed was her father.

I stared at her and finally her silver eyes met mine. We watched each other for a bit and then her father turned to me. I looked away quickly and saw the father smile through my peripheral vision. The father stood up.

"Happy holidays," he said to me as he walked inside of the parlor.

I went back to staring at the daughter. She looked back at me and smiled. I stood to my feet so I could introduce myself, but Emmitt came back outside with the ice cream. I mentally cursed at him and sat back down.

"Everything okay?" he asked me.

"Yeah, why?" I asked him in response.

"You look like you want to rip my head off," Emmitt pointed out.

I sighed and changed my face expression. I briefly glanced over at the blonde girl and Emmitt caught me. He looked over at her and then back at me. Emmitt then smiled and added a wink.

"Want to go over and say hi?" he asked me.

"No," I muttered.

"Chicken shit," Emmitt said.

"What'd you say?" I asked him.

"I said that you're a chicken shit," Emmitt said.

I looked at him incredulously.

"Fine, I'll go say hi," I said.

I stood to my feet and walked over to the blonde girl.

"Yes?" she asked me in a dreamy voice.

"Hi," I said.

"Hi," she responded.

"My name is Ben. Ben Macnair," I introduced myself.

"Luna, we need to go," the girl's father said, appearing out of the shop.

"Coming father," the girl said.

She stood up and walked past me. She then turned back to me suddenly.

"My name is Luna Lovegood," the girl introduced herself.

She then smiled at me and then walked over to her father. I watched the two disappear and then walked back to Emmitt.

"About as smooth as rocky road," Emmitt said, taking a bite of his rocky road ice cream.

"Ha, ha, ha," I responded, sitting down.

"At least you're on first name basis," Emmitt pointed out.

"Drop dead," I muttered.

"Careful bud, remember your dream," Emmitt said, pushing me slightly.

"Well, she was in my dream," I said.

"What?" Emmitt questioned me.

"That dream I had where I was looking at _your _grave, well _she _was there comforting me!" I shouted, earning a few looks from the other patrons.

"Ben… it was just a dream," Emmitt said.

"How do you know it was a dream?" I asked him.

"Because that's all it could really be," Emmitt said.

"How do you know!?" I shouted.

"Calm down, son," Emmitt said.

"I'm not your son!" I shouted.

We stood there for a moment, staring at each other. Then I walked away. Emmitt walked behind me, but didn't say anything.

That night, I was lying on my side on my bed when Emmitt came in.

"You still awake?" he asked me.

I didn't answer, but Emmitt knew me all too well to fall for it. He walked into my room and closed the door. He sat down on my bed.

"I'm sorry," I apologized immediately.

"Shh, don't be sorry," Emmitt said.

"No, you never had to take care of me…," I said.

"Shut up, Ben," Emmitt said suddenly.

I turned over and looked at him.

"Do you think for one second that if I went back in time after your father left you, I would change anything?" he asked me.

I shook my head.

"I knew your mother was sick and she had only so much time left, and I knew that she made me your Godfather, so I wanted to be with you as much as I could," Emmitt said.

"I just hate how much I've screwed up over the years," I said.

"We all screw up, we all make mistakes, but those screw ups and those mistakes do _not _make us who we are," Emmitt said.

"Do you really think that?" I asked him.

"I don't think a screw up can take down a twelve foot mountain troll or play Quidditch," Emmitt said.

I smiled after that.

"Now go to bed, because tomorrow is Christmas," Emmitt said.

I nodded and closed my eyes.

The next morning, I woke up and there were presents under a large Christmas tree that seemed to appear overnight. Emmitt was sitting on the couch, waiting for me.

"How the hell did this get here?" I asked him.

"A little magic," he said.

"But you're a Squib," I pointed out.

"It's called a car with a truck bed," Emmitt said, seeming a little peeved about me pointing out that he was a Squib.

"Yeah, yeah, I just feel bad I didn't get you anything," I said.

"_Well_! I guess I'll just take the ones I got you back," Emmitt said, standing up in a huff.

"Sit back down. I got you a gift," I said, grabbing a wrapped present in front of the tree.

"And what's that?" Emmitt asked me.

"Me," I said, unwrapping my first gift.

It was from Hermione and it was a book called _Curses and Counter-Curses_. There was also a note.

"Merry Christmas Ben, I hope this book can teach you some offensive and defensive spells to give you an advantage in Defense Against the Dark Arts. I have my own copy that I've already read and memorized. Well, Merry Christmas! Hermione," I read.

"So, a book from your girlfriend," Emmitt commented.

I felt the urge of chucking the book at his head, but I placed it aside and then grabbed a large present from Hagrid. I opened it and it was full of various treats. My mouth hung open. This present also had a note.

"Here ya go, Ben. Figured ya like this. Hagrid," I read.

"Jesus Christ, that's a lot of food!" Emmitt exclaimed.

I nodded and grabbed another present. I opened it and it revealed two presents with an "F" and a "G" on it.

"Fred and George," I guessed the senders immediately.

I opened them, one had several chocolate cakes with custard inside with a note that said "don't eat these, Ben", and the other was lined with wands with a note that said "trick wands. Try them".

"I wonder why you can't eat these," Emmitt said, taking a cake.

He ate it and suddenly he transformed into a yellow canary.

"What the hell!?" I shouted.

I looked at the note that told me not to eat them and the ink had changed.

"Don't worry, it only lasts a minute," I read from the note.

I looked over at the canary as it changed back to Emmitt.

"Give them to that Malfoy kid," he said, handing me the box.

"Will do," I said.

I grabbed my last present from Emmitt and opened it. It was a framed picture of my mother. She then smiled when she saw me and waved.

"Magic pictures move," Emmitt explained.

I watched my Mom continue waving at me and some tears fell.

"Thanks," I said to Emmitt, hugging him.


	14. Nicolas Flamel

**Nicholas Flamel**

After the holidays were over and I was back at Hogwarts for the second term, Harry and Ron both have their stories to tell. Harry had gotten a jumper and a box of homemade fudge from Ron's mother, a wooden flute from Hagrid, and a box of chocolate frogs from Hermione, a fifty-pence piece from his aunt and uncle, and then an old-looking cloak.

"What's with the cloak, who sent it?" I asked them.

"We don't know, but it's amazing," Ron said.

"How is that old thing amazing?" I asked them.

Harry took the cloak and covered himself with it. He then disappeared completely.

"What the hell?" I questioned this.

Harry then reappeared and tossed the cloak aside.

"It's an Invisibility Cloak," he said.

"And you have no idea who gave you it?" I asked him.

Harry shook his head.

"That old thing is pretty amazing," I admitted.

We all shared a laugh. Hermione suddenly appeared looking grim.

"What's wrong?" I asked her.

"Well, I spent most of the holidays trying to find out who Nicolas Flamel was, and I couldn't find him anywhere," she said.

"Neither could I, I even went to the restricted section of the library," Harry said.

"You did _what_!?" Hermione exclaimed.

"Here comes another tirade about breaking the rules," Ron muttered.

"Quiet, Ronald," Hermione said sharply.

"If you had any brains, you'd listen," I said.

Ron stopped talking.

"We need to figure out who this Nicolas Flamel guy is so we can be one step closer to figuring out what Fluffy is guarding and one step closer to stopping Snape from stealing it," I said.

"Nicolas Flamel!" Harry suddenly shouted.

Hermione jumped at his outburst and I sneered at her for being jumpy.

"Yes, Harry, we're trying to figure out who Flamel is," I said.

"No, I think I've seen his name before!" Harry exclaimed.

"Where?" we all asked him.

"On a chocolate frog card," he said, looking through his things to find the card.

He pulled out the Albus Dumbledore card that Harry had got from a chocolate frog and read it.

"Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times, Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the Dark Wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel. Professor Dumbledore enjoys chamber music and ten-pin bowling," Harry read.

"So, we now know he's an alchemist, but we're no further than we were before," I said.

Hermione suddenly squealed.

"Yes?" I asked her.

"I've seen Flamel before!" she practically screamed.

"Where?" we asked her.

"In the library, come with me!" she said, dragging us out of the Gryffindor Common Room.

We ran to the library and practically burst in. Hermione went to look for the book and came back instantaneously.

"Here, Nicolas Flamel. It says he was a famous alchemist and the only known maker of the Sorcerer's Stone," she said.

"What's the Sorcerer's Stone?" Ron asked.

"Shh! The Sorcerer's Stone has the power to turn any metal into gold and produce the Elixir of Life," Hermione read on.

"What's the Elixir of Life?" Ron asked.

"Shh! The Elixir of Life gives the drinker eternal life as long as he or she keeps consuming it," Hermione read on.

We looked at each other and pondered this.

The next day was the Quidditch game between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. This time; however, Madam Hooch wasn't refereeing the game. The new referee was a teacher. The new referee had a hooked nose. The new referee had greasy, black hair. The new referee was Professor Snape.

"This game is going to be a biased one," I muttered.

"Indeed," Fred agreed.

"Yes, it is," George agreed as well.

"Either way, we need to win this! Harry, you ready?" Wood asked the young Seeker.

"As I'll ever be," he said.

"Good," Wood said.

The game went underway and I watched from the sidelines. I watched as both Katie and Angelina scored for Gryffindor. Suddenly all of Gryffindor went into cheer.

"HARRY POTTER HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH! IN LESS THAN FIVE MINUTES, HARRY POTTER HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH! GRYFFINDOR WINS A HUNDRED AND SEVENTY TO ZERO!" Lee Jordan announced.

Harry flew down low to race around the perimeter of the pitch. He grinned at me and I nodded back. All of Gryffindor stormed onto the field to congratulate the Seeker.

The Weasley's were ecstatic. Wood was practically in tears for winning two in a row. The Chasers all came in and kissed Harry, who blushed madly. I just watched.

"Don't worry, mate," Fred said, appearing on one side of me.

"Yeah, you'll get your row," George added, appearing on the other.

"Yeah, I just have to wait for either you two to get knocked on your arse," I said.

"Real funny, mate," Fred said.

"Yeah, real funny," George agreed.

Everyone soon disbanded from the pitch, leaving Harry and me. We were about to leave as well, but we both saw Snape going into the Forbidden Forest.

"Why is he going in there?" I asked Harry.

"I don't know," he replied.

"Let's find out," I said, lifting off the ground.

Harry followed suit and we followed Snape through the Forbidden Forest, careful not to be seen. Suddenly Snape stops walking and Harry and I both stop.

"Professor Quirrell, what brings you here?" Snape asked.

The Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher with the ridiculous turban stepped out from behind a tree.

"Sev… Severus?" Quirrell stammered.

"_What _are you doing out here?" Snape asked again.

"Just doing research for my class," Quirrell responded timidly.

"Either way, I was wishing to ask you something," Snape said.

"And what is that?" Quirrell asked.

"What do you know of the Sorcerer's Stone?" Snape asked.

"The Sorcerer's Stone?" Quirrell stammered.

"Yes, the Sorcerer's Stone," Snape replied.

"I know what we all know of it, Severus," Quirrell responded, rubbing the back of his turban.

"Either way, I must be on my way," Snape said, turning away from Quirrell and walking off.

Harry and I looked at each other and then flew off to tell Ron and Hermione what we had just confirmed. Snape released that troll on Halloween. Snape did try to get past Fluffy that night. Snape was putting curses on Harry's broom. Snape was trying to steal the Sorcerer's Stone.


	15. Hagrid's Dragon

Hagrid's Dragon

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and I raced down to Hagrid's hut as soon as we were allowed to after Harry and I told Ron and Hermione what we had just seen with Snape and Quirrell.

We stopped at Hagrid's front door and knocked politely. The giant of a man opened up his door and looked at us.

"We have something to tell you," I said, trying to catch my breath.

"Well come in then," Hagrid said, allowing the four of us to enter.

He closed the door and we took our seats.

"Hagrid, I'm just gonna cut to the chase and say what needs to be said. We know that Fluffy is guarding the Sorcerer's Stone," I said.

"What? How do you know that?" Hagrid asked.

"Long story, but we think that Snape is trying to steal it," Harry said.

"Why would Snape want to steal it?" Hagrid questioned us.

"We don't exactly know, but Halloween night, when the troll was released in the castle, Snape went into that room and Fluffy bit his leg. And earlier today after the Quidditch match, Ben and I followed Snape and we saw him confront Quirrell about the Sorcerer's Stone," Harry said.

"Well, Snape would have a hard time getting to the Sorcerer's Stone," Hagrid said.

"Why?" Hermione asked.

"I can't say…," Hagrid said.

Suddenly Hermione fired a charm at him.

"Are you insane!?" Ron exclaimed.

"Shh…, he's fine, it was just a truth-telling charm," Hermione said.

"Oh…," Ron muttered.

"Hagrid, what is protecting the Sorcerer's Stone?" Hermione asked.

"Well, there's Fluffy, then some other enchantments designed by Professor Sprout, Professor Flitwick, Professor McGonagall, Professor Quirrell, and Professor Snape," Hagrid said.

"Snape probably knows how to get past each one if he's the last enchantment," I muttered.

Suddenly I realized that it was impossibly hot in Hagrid's hut. I was starting to sweat.

"Damn it, why is it so hot in here?" I asked Hagrid.

"I was about to ask the same thing," Harry replied.

"I uh… um…," Hagrid said, twiddling his large fingers together.

"Hagrid, what do you have?" I asked.

He looked over at his fireplace. We looked over as well and there was a large, oval-shaped rock in it.

"Why are you cooking a rock?" I asked.

"It's not a rock, it's a dragon egg!" Ron exclaimed.

"Shh!" Hagrid shushed him.

"Hagrid, dragons are illegal to own!" Ron exclaimed, not quieting down.

"But, I won him!" Hagrid bellowed.

"Hagrid, you'll get in trouble if anyone else finds out about that dragon," Hermione said.

"When will it hatch?" was all I could ask.

Hermione and Ron looked at me incredulously.

"Soon, very soon," Hagrid said.

Suddenly there was a loud crack coming from the fireplace.

"Right now," he said, standing up quickly.

He went over to the fireplace, put on some oven mitts, and carefully transported the hatching egg over to the table. We all crowded around it.

"This is so cool," I said.

"It won't be if we get caught," Hermione pointed out.

"We're gonna get caught," Ron muttered to himself.

"Quiet, it's hatching," Harry said.

We all watched as cracks appeared on the egg. Steam billowed out of from within it and a chunk of the eggshell broke away.

"Merlin's beard, there he is," Hagrid whispered as a small, winged lizard plopped out of the egg.

It looked up at us and blinked eyes that seemed too big for its head.

"Hey, little guy," Hagrid said, leaning forward.

The dragon suddenly reared back and blasted a small ball of fire onto Hagrid's beard. He quickly brushed it out and was completely unfazed.

"I've decided to call him Norbert. He really knows me now, watch. Norbert! Norbert! Where's Mummy?" Hagrid called out.

"He's lost his marbles," Ron said.

Harry, Hermione, and I nodded in agreement. I then noticed someone watching us from the window. It was Malfoy!

"Guys!" I shouted, pointing right at him.

Malfoy then took off.

"Oh no, he's seen Norbert, he's probably off to tell a teacher," Harry said.

"Even worse, we're out here after dark… we're gonna get in trouble," Hermione said.

"Great, all this for a little Norwegian Ridgeback," Ron mumbled.

"We can get back to the castle under the Invisibility Cloak," Harry said.

"Sorry, but I think there's a height clearance under that blanket," I pointed out.

"Fine, Hermione and me will go under the Cloak," Harry said.

"What about me?" Ron asked.

"You can come with me, I've snuck around school when I wasn't supposed to plenty of times," I said.

"Yeah, but this is a magical school," Ron said.

"Well, I do like a challenge," I said.

"Bye Hagrid!" we all said and went our separate ways.

Ron and I crossed through the grass and made it to these large stones that overlooked Hagrid's hut.

"We're dead, we're dead," Ron muttered to himself.

"Shut up, we'll be fine," I said.

I looked out around a rock and stared right into the face of Filch.

"Well, well, look who we have here," he growled.

"Alright, you got me," I said, putting my hands up.

Mrs. Norris stood nearby, flicking her tail back and forth.

"Out here alone, eh?" Filch asked me.

"Yeah, thought I'd take a little nighttime stroll," I said.

"All by yourself?" Filch asked.

"Yep," I responded.

"Come with me then, we'll take you to your Head of House along with the two others I found lurking out after dark," Filch said.

"Two others?" I asked.

He then led me over where Harry and Hermione stood.

"What happened to you?" I asked.

"I tripped," Hermione said quietly as Filch led us away.

Harry looked at me with an expression that asked, "where's Ron?". I simply looked back outside and nodded.

Filch led us back into the castle and up to where Professor McGonagall waited for us. Malfoy and Neville were there as well.

"Three more, Professor," Filch said, pushing us forward.

"Thank you, Mr. Filch, now be on your way," McGonagall said.

Filch and Mrs. Norris left and McGonagall closed the doors with a wave of her wand.

"You three, Mr. Malfoy has told me you were out of bed at Hagrid's with a baby dragon. What do you have to say?" McGonagall asked us.

"We were out of bed, but there was no dragon," I said.

"There was!" Malfoy insisted.

McGonagall held up her hand.

"Either way, this will continue to be a he-said, he-said battle. If Hagrid does have a dragon, he alone will face the consequences as soon as the Headmaster goes to him. However, you five will serve detention when I see a good opportunity and fifty points for each of you will be taken from your Houses," McGonagall said.

"Wait, me too?" Malfoy asked.

"Yes, you too. You were out of bed as well, Mr. Malfoy," McGonagall said.

Hermione looked as if she was going to cry. I sighed, knowing that I was involved in even more points being taken from Gryffindor. I was going to be public enemy number one when everyone saw what had happened all because of me.


End file.
